ManateeTracker

ConservationTales ©2018

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ManateeTracker

byTomMcConnell&ShelbyStallardwww.conservationtales.com/manatees

Manateesaremarinemammalsthatliveinshallowoceans.Until2016,manateeswerelistedasanendangeredspecies,soscientistshavebeenmonitoringthespecies.Onewayscientistsstudytheanimalsistocollectdataabouttheanimals’movement.Knowinghowmanateesmovethroughtheirhabitatcanhelpresearchersplanwaystoprotecttheenvironmentneededbymanatees.Inthisactivity,youwilluserealdataaboutmanateemovementstoansweryourownquestionsaboutmanatees. Link – You will use data from the Manatee MapnTracker website. Objectives:

• I can write testable questions for a scientific inquiry. • I can use data to understand the movement of a manatee. • I can compare data from different manatees to find patterns. • I can make inferences based on patterns in evidence.

Driving Question: You can write a question to guide your inquiry about manatees. A driving question is the question you will try to answer using data. Some examples might include…

How far does a manatee travel in a day? In a week? Do male and female manatees travel different distances?

Driving Question: Write your Driving Question in this space below. Prediction: In this box, write a Prediction about what you think the answer your driving question will be:

ManateeTracker

ConservationTales ©2018

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ManateeTrackingManateescanbetrackedandmonitoredusingsatellitetrackingbuoys.Theimageattherightshowsamanateewithoneofthesebuoys.Thebuoyhasatransmitterthansendssignalstoasatellitetoreportthemanatee’spositioneverytimethebuoy’santennaisabovethesurface.Diverswhoswimnearmanateesarerequiredtoavoidcontactwithmanateeswithtrackingbuoys.Thisisbecausetrackingbuoysareusuallyusedwithanimalsthathavesickorinjured.Whentheanimaliswellenoughtobereleased,atrackingbuoyisattachedtothemanatee’stailwithacable.Thebuoyletsscientistcheckonthemanateetoseehowitisdoing.Thebuoyisleftontheanimal’stailnomorethanayear.Thebuoyisremovedwhentheanimalshowsthatitishealthyenoughtosurviveonitsown.Inthisinquiry,youwillusedatarecordedbytrackingmanateesreleasedintwodifferentareasofFlorida.Thewebsitelinkedonpage1hasafew“tagged”manateesthathaveactivebuoys.Ifyouclickonthenameofoneoftheseanimals,youwillfindamapwithyellownumberedflagsshowingwherethemanateehasbeensighted.Thewebsitehasotherdatafrom“untagged”manatees.Fortheseanimals,youwillnotseeamap.Butifyouclick“FieldNotes,”youwillfindseveralnoteswrittenbyascientistorvolunteerwhofoundtheanimal,recordedsomenotesaboutlocationandactivity,andenteredthedataintothedatabase.YourManateeTrackingInquiryThinkabouttheDrivingQuestionyouwroteandmakeaplanforhowmanymanateesyouwillincludeinyourinquiry.Haveyourteacherorparentcheckyourplanandapproveit.Thenclickonthemanatees’namesontheMapnTrackersite.Recordthelocationswheretheanimalwasseeninthedatatablefoundonthenextpage.Youcanzoominthemaptoseelocations,oryoufindlocationslistedinFieldNotesonamapofFloridayoucanfindononline.Youcanusethatmaptoestimatedistances.Thenanswerthequestionsonpage4tofindpatternsinthedataandansweryourDrivingQuestion.

Manateewithatrackingbuoy.

ManateeTracker

ConservationTales ©2018

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ManateeTrackingDataTableYourname___________________________________________________________________Date_________________Yourdrivingquestion:______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Manatee’sname

Sex(M/F)

Flag#orFieldNotedate

Location DistanceTraveled(estimate)

*Note: Print as many copies of this table as needed, OR create your own table to include the data you need to answer your driving question.

ManateeTracker

ConservationTales ©2018

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FindingPatternsandMakingInferencesAfteryoucollectdatafromthemanateetrackers,lookatthedatatoseeifthereareanypatternsyoucanseeinthemovementofmanatees.ThepatternsyoulookforshouldberelatedtoyourDrivingQuestion.1. Writeanypatternsyouthinkyoucanseeinthedatayoucollected.

2. Discussthepatternsyouseewithyourclassmates.Howdotheirpatternsdifferfromyours?

3. Suggestsomereasonswhyyousawthepatternsyousaw.Doyouthinkthepatternsareinfluencedbyweather,timeofyear,habitat,orotherfactors?Whydoyouthinkthis?

4. Basedonwhatyoulearnedaboutthesizeoftheareausedbyamanatee,howmuchspacedoyouthinkscientistsandgovernmentsshouldprotectformanatees?